Experimental approach and angiogenetic and vasculogenetic molecule expression
(A) The cartoon represents the back of a mouse with the site of the two wounds and of the implanted pump indicated; on the right side is represented an excised wound (ellipse shaped) that is subdivided in pieces to perform all the analyses. The breaking strength analysis is performed on an entire wound, following excision. At the bottom the timeline of the experiment is represented. (B) VEGF mRNA expression in skin wound samples collected from normoglycaemic (db+/+m) mice treated with different RLX doses (6.25, 12.5, 25 and 50 μg/mouse per day) at day 6. Each bar represents the mean±S.D. of six animals. *P<0.05 compared with RLX 6.25; #P<0.001 compared with RLX 6.25. VEGF (C) and SDF1-α (E) mRNA expression in skin wound samples collected from either normoglycaemic (db+/+m) and diabetic mice (db+/db+) given either RLX (25 μg/mouse per day, subcutaneously) or vehicle (6 μl of 0.9% NaCl/mouse per day) at 3, 6 and 12 days. Each point represents the mean±S.D. of six animals. §P<0.001 compared with db+/+m+vehicle; *P<0.05 compared with db+/+m+vehicle; #P<0.001 compared with db+/db++vehicle. (D) VEGF protein levels studied by ELISA in skin wound samples collected from either normoglycaemic (db+/+m) or diabetic mice (db+/db+) given either RLX (25 μg/mouse per day, subcutaneously) or vehicle (6 μl of 0.9% NaCl/mouse per day) at 3, 6 and 12 days. Each point represents the mean±S.D. of six animals. §P<0.001 compared with db+/+m+vehicle; *P<0.05 compared with db+/+m+vehicle; #P<0.001 compared with db+/db++vehicle.